Well I am officially a bitch – and I kinda like it – dare I say it aloud? Meredith Brooks said it best in “Nothing in Between”:
I’m a bitch, I’m a lover
I’m a child, I’m a mother
I’m a sinner, I’m a saint
I do not feel ashamed
After feeling sluggish, run down and basically gray after a very long and stressful winter I opted to do a cleanse. This diet eliminates all the fun in life: no coffee, no sugar, no gluten, no dairy, no potatoes NO NO NO NO NOOOOOOOOO!!!! It’s all for the greater good but right now it feels like a bit of a slog to be frank.
Being a foodie this is extraordinarily difficult. Organic, local, sustainable are all buzzwords – and we do our best to eat healthy but the ugly truth is I love gluten, dairy, sugar and coffee. Giving up these aspects of food has been crazy hard. Headaches, exhaustion and cravings for the first week. Not to mention becoming a crazy beeeyotch. Have sympathy for anyone living under this roof. However I found some solace in raging moodiness. Being a bitch isn’t necessarily a bad thing. There are positives that come with the territory. You will NOT cut in front of me in line! Oh no you won’t! and I will let you know what I think, whether you like it or not! Bwhahahahaha. It’s been just a wee bit liberating 😉
So this bitch is bringing you Farinata with Olives, Onions & Sage. Gluten and Dairy free but full of taste. Cleanse or no cleanse this is on my permanent menu.
Farinata with Olives, Sage & Onions adapted from David Lebovitz Socca Recipe with inspiration from the Rose Pistola’s Farinata Recipe
1 cup chickpea flour
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons olive oil,batter
1 tablespoon olive oil, onions
2 tablespoons olive oil, frying
1/2 large white onion, thinly sliced
30 pitted Niçoise olives
30 sage leaves
Additional sea salt and olive oil for serving
Instructions:
In a medium bowl whisk together the chickpea flower, water, salt and 2 tablespoons of oil. Let batter rest for 2 hours. Do not refrigerate – best to keep the bowl covered at room temperature.
Thinly slice onion. Bring a cast iron pan to medium heat and fry until lightly golden and tender. Halve the olives. When you are ready to make the farinata turn the broiler on with a 10 inch cast iron pan inside. Use about 1 tablespoon of oil to grease the pan. When the pan is sizzling hot take it out of the oven and ladle enough batter to cover the bottom of the pan. Quickly toss on about 1/2 the onions olives and sage (1/3 if you can make thin pancakes). Return to the oven and cook for about 5 minutes or until the farinata starts to blister and brown. I was only able to get 2, 10 inch slightly thicker pancakes but I imagine if you were good at making them you would get more. Toss w. salt and a sprinkling of olive oil. Serve immediately.
